MEDIA RELEASE

Big Island Police have identified the lone gunman who robbed the “5-Spice” food shop in the Puainako Town Center in 2005.

On March 18, 2005, responding to an 11:30 a.m. call, South Hilo patrol officers determined that a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt walked into the store, brandished a handgun and demanded money. He then reached across the counter, grabbed money from the cash register and fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was physically injured in the robbery.

Detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigation Section interviewed a 17 year-old male in connection with the robbery as well as other unrelated crimes. The juvenile in question was arrested for an outstanding warrant which was issued after he fled from a court ordered juvenile facility on Maui.

Police have transferred custody of the offender to sheriffs from the Department of Safety who transported him to a secure juvenile detention facility on Oahu.